By Elmera Schenkenberger
Herman Middleton (1925 – 2020) was a beloved member of the UNCG Theatre Department faculty and a prolific producer of plays across the Piedmont Triad. Middleton was born and raised in Sanford, Florida, just outside of Orlando. While a student at Rollings College, Middleton was called to serve in WWII with the US Navy. During this time, he met and married his wife Amelia Mary Eggert. After the war ended, he returned to his studies, attending the prestigious Columbia University, and earning his BS (1948) and MA (1949). Mr. Middleton would later complete his PhD at the University of Florida. Before joining the UNCG faculty in 1956, he taught at Northwestern University and the location of his doctorate, the University of Florida.
Once at UNCG, Middleton enjoyed a lengthy, and successful, tenure that spanned over three decades. Upon his move to what was then still then the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina, he was named Head of the Drama Department and assistant professor. His appointment oversaw a period of vast growth, with accelerated growth in the department leading to an increase in faculty, the creation of a formal study path, and the eventual expansion of degree programs offered.
Middleton also brought the first Broadway musical to UNCG, with the production of famed hit Oklahoma! in 1957. By the time he retired from his role as department head in 1972, to focus on full time teaching, the department had been renamed to that of the Drama and Speech Department, offered multiple Bachelor’s, and Master’s, degree opportunities, and had built notable acclaim as one of the state’s finest theatre schools. He remained on staff until his retirement in 1990. Even after retiring from teaching, Mr. Middleton remained a stalwart of the department and local and state organizations.
All-in-all, throughout his venerated career, Middleton designed, directed, or played leading roles in more than 250 plays, musicals, operas, and symphonic dramas. His work and associations touched multiple universities, community theaters, and historical associations. If that wasn’t enough, for a time in his career, Mr. Middleton also wrote articles for the Greensboro Daily News, providing reviews, giving theatre-related tips, and discussing topics happening in the theatre world.
Over his career, Middleton worked with many different associations, helping raise the prominence of theatre in Greensboro, the state, and the greater region of the Southeastern US. These include the American Theatre Association, the Southern Theatre Conference, the North Carolina Speech and Drama Association, the North Carolina Theatre Conference, and perhaps most notably, the USO. During this time, he also lent his expertise and skills to the Cherokee Historical Association, the Great Smoky Mountains Historical Association, and the Tide Water Historical Theatre.
Of all his successes, two remain arguably the most notable. First, the UNCG Theatre department was selected three times between 1959-1965 to tour with the USO, adventures that included visits to Europe, Greenland and east Asia. Second, his 1973 adaptation and direction of The Oresteia by Aeschylus, entered in the American College Theatre Festival, being selected as one of ten national winners to be performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
With all that has been stated, it should be no surprise then, that Middleton was well known in the theatre community. His eye for detail, expert theatrical execution, and uplifting of theatre throughout his career led to being a recipient of many different awards. The first was the initial recipient of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s O. Henry Award, awarded for artistic contributions to the city. This was followed by the Suzanne M. Davis Memorial Award, from the Southern Theatre Conference, for his service in championing theatre throughout the region. Amoco Oil Company’s Gold Medallion, given by American
College Theatre Festival, was awarded for his national service to college and university theatre. Perhaps most meaningfully of all, during the UNCG 75th Anniversary celebration, Middleton and 11 others were selected as inaugural members of UNCG’s Theatre Hall of Fame.
Following his tenure, Middleton donated his professional papers to the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University archives. After his passing in 2020, Middleton’s family donated additional papers, completing the collection we now have.
The Herman Middleton Papers contain materials related to Middleton’s career as a teacher, director, producer, and actor. These belongings include photographs, music books and magazines, awards, newspaper articles, production information journals, slides of his productions, information from his travels, film of productions, teaching materials, and newspaper articles.
